- Exit 22 production of 7 Stories written by Morris Panych, directed by Dawn Moore. Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinee on Oct. 22.
CAPILANO University's Exit 22 theatre company opens their season this week with 7 Stories.
"It's a comedy about suicide," says director Dawn Moore, "in that bent, brilliant writing style of Morris Panych. It's 20 years old now but it's still fresh and contemporary and it's a Canadian classic. Most people have heard of Morris Panych but quite a few people have never seen one of his plays. This is one that helped kick off his whole career. People will be entertained and exposed to a surrealist view of the meaning of life."
Panych is an icon of the Canadian stage, having written two dozen scripts, directing a further 80 and appearing in more than 50, as well as a variety of television productions. He also holds a pair of Governor General's Awards for Drama, among other honours.
7 Stories is framed around a man perched on the ledge of the seventh story of a tall building. As he weighs whether or not to leap to his death, his decision is interrupted by the stories of the residents in the windows behind him, each too swept in up their own problems to interfere with him until they open the various windows on the ledge.
"As a faculty we select the season for Exit 22 to make sure we are doing worthwhile material for the audience to see but also that will showcase our emerging actors coming out of our two acting programs," says Moore. "7 Stories really gives a number of people an opportunity at a substantial role. Each story has its own arc - a beginning, a middle and an end. It's quite unique that way. A lot of plays have a couple of leads and then a number of supporting roles."
The ensemble cast draws actors from their first through final years at Capilano, including several debut and graduating performances.
While suicide might not seem a likely topic for a comedy, Moore says Panych's approach not only gives the audience the safety to unpack such a weighty topic, it also provides a fresh, insightful perspective.
"I think human beings approach a lot of tough subjects with irony just so we can face them," she says. "If you face them too head-on, your brain can turn off and you stop thinking about it. But I think, in a way, if you can laugh at moments, it allows you to process those thoughts. I was really influenced this summer by the Magritte and the surrealists down at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The original set for this play was based on Magritte's work. I think the surrealists did something similar, putting things on a kilter to get you to notice and watch."
While the Capilano set will display some surrealist influence, it will also be recognizable as a downtown Vancouver high-rise. It's one of several subtly Canadian aspects of the play, Moore says. In the production's promotional materials, Moore wrote the play is "truly Canadian, but with no Mounties or beavers."
Speaking with the News, Moore admits she had a close call on part of that statement.
"We ended up with one police officer," she chuckles. "I was grateful he ended up looking more like a Vancouver cop. But there's a certain dry, understatement to the worldview that I think is Canadian.
Panych doesn't drop a lot of obvious Canadianisms in there, but the people just feel like they're drawn from our everyday people even though they are big caricatures."
7 Stories plays nightly at 8 p.m. at the North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts, at Capilano University with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday before closing later that night. Tickets are available at 604-990-7810 or tickets.capilano.ca.
Later in the season, Exit 22 will stage the more familygeared Arabian Nights, Arthur Miller's parable of the Salem witch-hunts The Crucible, and finally romantic comedy musical classic, Hello Dolly.
"We've got a great group of students and I think a lot of people would like to see artists that are just emerging and coming into the profession," said Moore. "They're fresh, and energetic and eager."
